LAS VEGAS -- Brittney Griner has decided not to attend the U.S. women's national basketball team training camp.
The 6-foot-8 star of the Phoenix Mercury was arrested April 22 on suspicion of assault after a fight with her fiancée, fellow WNBA player Glory Johnson. Griner was expected to be one of the 27 players at the camp that started Monday. She opted not to come over the weekend, according to USA Basketball.
"As you can imagine, the last couple of weeks have been difficult for her and she has a lot going through her mind," USA Basketball national team director Carol Callan told ESPN. "We understand, and she has our support."
Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner's agent, issued a statement late Monday, saying, "Brittney has been through a lot these last couple weeks and after her health began to suffer, she felt it best to take a step back and continue to focus on her counseling. She knows USA Basketball deserves her full mental and physical commitment and given the circumstances, she didn't feel like she could fulfill that responsibility. Brittney is incredibly grateful for USA Basketball's support through what has been a challenging time."
Griner entered into a diversion agreement, where she will plead guilty to disorderly conduct and attend 26 weeks of domestic violence counseling. All charges will be dismissed if she completes her counseling.
The training camp wasn't mandatory, and Griner wasn't the only member of the player pool not in attendance. Callan said Griner's decision to miss training camp does not affect her standing with the team.
"We have a pool of athletes who can't participate for a variety of reasons," Callan said. "She remains a pool player and remains in good standing with USA Basketball."
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